GOA Response To D.C.'s Licensing Scheme

Gun Owners Of America Denounces "Lawless" DC City Council

For Immediate Release
Contact Ellie McDaniel or Eddie Isler
July 15, 2008
703-321-8585

The executive director of Gun Owners of America denounced today's action of the D.C. City Council in response to the Supreme Court's Heller ruling and predicted that its "emergency legislation" would be challenged and overturned.

GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt characterized the council's action by saying: "It is no wonder that the District is awash with lawlessness. The contempt for the law starts in the city council chambers."

The District's "emergency" action would keep the unconstitutional gun license requirement, keep the unconstitutional semiautomatic ban, and impose new unconstitutional "ballistics" requirements on those wishing to exercise their constitutional right to keep a firearm for self-defense.

But, even more flagrantly, the District would maintain the trigger lock and unloaded gun requirements which were explicitly overturned by the High Court.

"The District appears to be dutifully passing what the Brady folks drafted for it," said Pratt. "But while interim D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles fancies that they have crafted 'model' legislation, it is in fact a model for litigative defeat and more court-administered humiliation."

Pratt predicted that the council's action would be challenged and overturned. And he also called on Congress to exercise its constitutional responsibility under Article I, Section 8, Clause 17, to rein in the lawless D.C. government.

"Obviously," said Pratt, "the District has demonstrated that it is unable to govern itself. So it's about time someone did it for them."

Larry Pratt is the Executive Director for Gun Owners of America, a national gun lobby with over 300,000 members. Either Larry Pratt or another GOA spokesman is available for press interviews.

-- GOA --